Life is better with a coach

I am part financial coach, part independent financial adviser, and part sounding board. Having seen the difference to my clients after they have completed my 6-month program, I am on a quest to make positive changes to my life. That is why this year I am making a conscious effort to get help from specialist coaches to improve myself.

Financial coaching should be about your goals

At the beginning of this year I started a 12 week program with Maged Abraham and Rita Samuel from the Ketotrainer, to help me lose weight. I have been trying to lose weight for the last 10 years, but just haven’t been able to do it. At the beginning of the program I sat down with Mags and Rita and we talked through my goals. While I started with the goal of losing weight, we finally got to my real goals of looking good, enjoying being active with my kids and to have more energy. Importantly, these are all SMART goals, in that they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely.

Interestingly, they have two goals for me, and neither of these are to lose weight. Their goals for me are to reset my relationship with food (i.e. get rid of my addiction to sugar and stop snacking) and show me the things I should be eating and avoiding.

In addition, we won’t measure my progress by using scales or testing my blood. Instead, we will use clothes that I want to fit into as the yardstick. If I can drop a few sizes (my aim is 3 pants sizes by Christmas), I will be well on my way to achieving my goals. After 8 weeks I have already noticed I am fitting into shirts and jeans that I had not been able to fit into for years. I can’t wait to see what I will be like in 9 months!

This is similar to what I do as a financial coach and independent financial adviser. I don’t measure my success by my clients investment returns, but by the goals they are able to achieve. Having an investment property isn’t a goal. Being able to afford to put your kids through private schools or being able to make work optional by the time you are 50 is a real goal.

Financial coaching should help you unlock roadblocks

Secondly, I have a breathwork coach. For those that don’t know what breathwork is, it is using your breathe to get into a relaxed state. In the first session I didn’t know what to expect. I was even a bit apprehensive when my wife started talking about how I will learn to breathe when I am having a baby. While each session has been different, the process has been life-changing. Here are my two major breakthroughs.

How often do you hear people say they are busy when you ask how their work is? I used to say it all the time. I didn’t realise this was making me feel stressed and anxious. I am now consciously changing my thought process. Instead of saying I am busy, I am taking the approach that it is going really well because I am helping lots more people. It not only makes me feel good, but it also reduces the stress.

With my work, I am naturally focused on helping others. The breathwork sessions has reinforced that I also have to take the time to help and enjoy myself. Doing things for myself is not being selfish, it is being kind. I encourage you all to make sure you are taking the time to look after yourselves.

When it comes to helping my clients, I like to keep their finances simple. This way, we can avoid roadblocks such as “there isn’t enough money” or “money doesn’t grow on trees”. Instead we set it up so they have their goals funded and then they can spend the rest without feeling guilty.

Coaching can get you there faster

Finally, we have taken on a business coach that specialises in marketing. After three years of growing the business, we decided that we need help to take it to the next level. The small changes we have made in the past few weeks has helped significantly. It is allowing us to target the people we can help the most. This is a win for us and a more importantly a win for people that need our help.

With my clients, I help them have clear goals; a strategy to achieve them; and the most appropriate financial products in place in under 6 months. This allows you to get it all in place and back to living your best life sooner.

Conclusion

Most people who are at the top of any field have coaches. Elite sports people, business executives, or well-known artists all have coaches. If you want to write a book but don’t know where to start, there are coaches for that. If you want to get better at horse riding, there are coaches for that. If you want to crack the 12 minute mark for a 5km run, there are coaches for that.

Sure with all of these things you could probably get there yourself, but think of the extra time and mistakes you make along the way. Instead of just thinking about it, why not give yourself the best chance of being able to do whatever it is that you want.

I can’t help you with weight loss, running or horse riding. However, as a financial coach and independent financial adviser, I can help if you are someone who wants to make sure they are on track financially; you earn good money but don’t save anything; or you want to invest but don’t really have a plan.

If this sounds like something you could benefit from, book a chat via the link below or call us to discuss what our 6-month program has to offer.